
Energy storage is a potential substitute for, or complement to, almost every aspect of a power system, including generation, transmission, and demand flexibility. Storage should be co-optimized with clean generation, transmission systems, and strategies to reward consumers for making their electricity use more flexible. . Goals that aim for zero emissions are more complex and expensive than NetZero goals that use negative emissions technologies to achieve a reduction of 100%. The pursuit of a zero, rather than net-zero, goal for the. . The need to co-optimize storage with other elements of the electricity system, coupled with uncertain climate change impacts on demand and supply,. . The intermittency of wind and solar generation and the goal of decarbonizing other sectors through electrification increase the benefit of. . Lithium-ion batteries are being widely deployed in vehicles, consumer electronics, and more recently, in electricity storage. [pdf]
Storage enables electricity systems to remain in balance despite variations in wind and solar availability, allowing for cost-effective deep decarbonization while maintaining reliability. The Future of Energy Storage report is an essential analysis of this key component in decarbonizing our energy infrastructure and combating climate change.
“Fuel cells are really looking exciting and interesting for heavy-duty transportation and clean energy storage,” said Jaramillo, “but it’s ultimately going to come down to lowering cost, which is what this collaborative work is all about.”
The report advocates for federal requirements for demonstration projects that share information with other U.S. entities. The report says many existing power plants that are being shut down can be converted to useful energy storage facilities by replacing their fossil fuel boilers with thermal storage and new steam generators.
Energy storage is a potential substitute for, or complement to, almost every aspect of a power system, including generation, transmission, and demand flexibility. Storage should be co-optimized with clean generation, transmission systems, and strategies to reward consumers for making their electricity use more flexible.
The need to co-optimize storage with other elements of the electricity system, coupled with uncertain climate change impacts on demand and supply, necessitate advances in analytical tools to reliably and efficiently plan, operate, and regulate power systems of the future.
A breakthrough in hydrogen fuel cell technology, achieved through collaborative research, has substantially lowered costs by replacing platinum metals with silver in catalysts, marking a significant step towards affordable and efficient green energy storage.

Based on our bottom-up modeling, the Q1 2021 PV and energy storage cost benchmarks are: $2.65 per watt DC (WDC) (or $3.05/WAC) for residential PV systems, 1.56/WDC (or $1.79/WAC) for commercial rooftop PV systems, $1.64/WDC (or $1.88/WAC) for commercial ground-mount PV systems, $0.83/WDC (or $1.13/WAC) for fixed-tilt utility-scale PV systems, $0.89/WDC (or $1.20/WAC) for one-axis-tracking utility-scale PV systems, $30,326-$33,618 for a 7.15-kWDC residential PV system with 5 kW/12.5 kWh nameplate of storage, $2.04 - $2.10 million for a 1-MWDC commercial ground-mount PV system colocated with 600 kW/2.4 MWhusable of storage, $166 - $167 million for a 100-MWDC one-axis tracker PV system colocated with 60 MW/240 MWhusable of storage. [pdf]
The benchmarks in this report are bottom-up cost estimates of all major inputs to PV and energy storage system (ESS) installations. Bottom-up costs are based on national averages and do not necessarily represent typical costs in all local markets.
Non-battery systems, on the other hand, range considerably more depending on duration. Looking at 100 MW systems, at a 2-hour duration, gravity-based energy storage is estimated to be over $1,100/kWh but drops to approximately $200/kWh at 100 hours.
The cost estimates provided in the report are not intended to be exact numbers but reflect a representative cost based on ranges provided by various sources for the examined technologies. The analysis was done for energy storage systems (ESSs) across various power levels and energy-to-power ratios.
Cost metrics are approached from the viewpoint of the final downstream entity in the energy storage project, ultimately representing the final project cost. This framework helps eliminate current inconsistencies associated with specific cost categories (e.g., energy storage racks vs. energy storage modules).
The cost categories used in the report extend across all energy storage technologies to allow ease of data comparison. Direct costs correspond to equipment capital and installation, while indirect costs include EPC fee and project development, which include permitting, preliminary engineering design, and the owner’s engineer and financing costs.
Additionally, given their long calendar life, decommissioning costs are considered to be very small on a present value basis. Thermal energy storage also benefits from easy recyclability of power equipment and for most of the thermal SB. For these reasons, decommissioning costs are not considered in this analysis.
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